4-21-2010 Rome, Top to Bottom and Below

Our day started with a trip to the Catacombs just outside the old city. Because there's not a lot of land area, the Romans, then the Christians had vertical "graveyards" instead of horizontal. Apparently the volcanic rock in the area is pretty easy to dig through to make the openings for those buried, that then hardens on exposure to air. There are a total of 11 miles of tunnels, alcoves, and courtyards and it's very easy to get lost, so you have to have a guide lead you through the small public portion. As in everything else, your wealth and social status determines where and how you're buried. IF you were rich enough, you could even have a nice little central room so your relatives could visit and have a picnic...underground. The most fascinating part is how they had ventilation shafts to the surface to let in both light and air; unfortunately, they had to close the shafts so a road could be put through. How plebian.

After the macabre portion of our Roman excursion was over, the second half of our tour group arrived - an extended family group so determined to get to Italy that they took a charter plane when their reserved flight was canceled. Now we are 21.
Next we strapped on our traveling shoes and took off for the whirlwind tour of Rome. Since we had a few extra days before the tour started, we had seen many of the locations, but they were worth seeing again with a local guide who knows all the history and legends for the different locations. Rome is a humid city and with the sun blazing down on you, the fatigue can set in quite quickly. On top of the weather, there's the cobblestone streets, the narrow alleyways and multitudes of people, and certainly the constant up and down of the hills. Luckily, there's almost always a nice cool breeze to refresh you when you sit down in one of the many piazzas all throughout the city. After walking for almost three hours straight up and down hills under the hot spring sun, the chance to sit down and rest your feet is a welcome one. It's even better when the bench you sit on and eat lunch is just a few feet away from the Trevi Fountain. No wonder the Italians are religious about their afternoon rests with such beautiful and impressive things to look at all the time.

If I thought that Rome was beautiful by day, it doesn't have the charm and ambience of Rome by night. The various ruins and monuments are lit with a warm golden light that makes the marble seem to glow the warm golden glow of a cozy fire. And all this is after a dinner of epicurean delight. The food in Italy, even when just a simple sandwich or pizza from a food stand is rich and fulfilling. The flavors are both bright and rich at the same time.

To make our dinner complete, we were serenaded by a tenor and soprano who perform each night at the ristorante. While the soprano was a great singer with both talent and skill, it was the tenor who had me putting down my fork and knife just to soak in the rich timber of his voice. He filled the room with the wound of his voice, the words of the songs just soaking into my bones and soothing me on a visceral level.

Full and sated both physically and emotionally, we returned to the hotel to rest our brains and feet for the next full day in Rome.